8i THE RECONOUEST OF THE SOUDAN.

way cautiously, and, evenwithevery precaution, much delav wascaused by one of the gunboats getting fast aground on a sandbank. The attack was to have been made at dawn on Saturday, but the accident to the gunboat delayed matters so much that if it were to be made on Saturday at all, it would have to be late in the afternoon, with no daylight left in which to reap the fruits of victory. So the boats slowed down, intending not to sight Shendv till earlv on Sunday.

crowd of fighting men and a couple of Captain Peake's guns ashore. Hickman moved his force along the bank till he sighted the Dervishes, then he formed line of battle with the Jaalin in his rear. In column of fours he boldlymarched his infantry across the enemy's front.

The 15th was under a dropping fire from the enemy,but took no heed of it,moving steadily on. Against their bad marksmanship Hickman was boldlv and successfully reviving the oldworld tactics by which Frederick the Great In the afternoon of Saturday a party was sent ashore on the right bank to cut wood in order to complete the stock of fuelfor the gunboats. While the\ were thus engaged three Dervish scouts came on the scene ;two of them were shot but the third galloped off to Shendy with the news that the Sirdar's gunboats were coming. The garrison had been reduced to about 700 men— Baggara tribesmen and black riflemen (Jehadia). When the .scout arrived they were busy celebrating an alleged victory over the I tians, about which Mahmoud had sent them a boastful letter from his camp on theAtbara. The won his battles. As he reached the proper point the leading companies wheeled right so as to .mtflank the Dervishes, who threw back their own right wing. Then all theEgyptian infantry opened fire, and Captain Peake got his guns into action and burst a few .shrapnel well in front of the enemy, each shell tearing a gap in their ranks. By a great piece of luck one of the shells killed the emir who was in command, and in five minutes his men broke and fledacross the.1. si l' The Jaalin,onlytoo eager for vengeance,went after them in wild pursuit, many of them mounted on the donkeys that the Mahdists had abandoned O'lONEL H1CKMAN. (Pnotot Edwards,HydePark Corner.)

with their baggage. The pursuit went on all day and covered a good twenty miles of ground. There was not a single casualty on the Egyptian side; but the Dervishes lost 100 killedon the field and in the pursuit.

No less than 645 prisoners were taken, most of them Jaalm women, who were thus restored to their tribe. Besides the prisoners, there was a considerable amount of booty — ■large quantities of grain, arms of various kinds, 14 big war drums, 240 baggage animals (camels .11-.I donkeys), and 14 boxes of cartridges. The fact that a larger quantity of cartridges was not found in the depot at Hosh-en-Naga was taken to be a sign that Mahmoud's army generally was short ot ammunition.

Colonel Hickman burned the huts at Shendy news that the gunboats were at hand put an end to the festivities. After a hurried council of war the families of Mahmoud and of several of his emirs who had been left at Shendy were sent off towards Omdurman under an escort of camel-men. The rest of the garrison prepared to fight,choosing for this purpose aposition beyond Shendy,and between it and the depots of stores collected in Hosh-en-Naga village.

Mahmoud had taken the guns out of the Shendy forts whenhe movedup to the Atbara, so the three steamers, all crowded with black soldiers and Jaalin friendlies, were not fired on as they steamed up abreast of the town in the unlight of the early morning. On they -ill they were off Hosh-eii-Naga, then they turned in to the bank and sent their 6